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Oct. 27, 1964 c. ITT 3,154,633

FACTORY FORMED TOP TIE Filed Aug. 15, 1963 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOK JESS c. LITTLE- #OATToRueY J. C. LITTLE FACTORY FORMED TOP TIE Oct. 27, 1964 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 15, 1963 INVENTOR.

JESS C. LITTLE Oct. 27, 1964 J. c. LITTLE FACTORY FORMED TOP TIE 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 15, 1965 INVENTOR. JESS c. LIT

g L9 HTTOPNL=Y United States Patent 3,154,633 FACTORY FORMED TQP THE Jess C. Little, Cleveland Heights, Ohio, assignor to The Fanner Manufacturing Company, a division of Tentron, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Rhode island Filed Aug. 15, 1963, Ser. No. 302,278 8 Claims. (Cl. 174-473) This invention relates to improvements in means for suspending lines and more particularly to a means for securing a line to an insulator or similar support.

It is common practice to provide a means for supporting a line, which may be a communication line, power lines etc., from a pole, wherein a support, commonly in the form of a pin-type insulator, is provided. It will be appreciated that the invention is not limited to use with a support having insulating qualities. When the support is an insulator it usually comprises a flared bottom or skirt, within which is a central threaded socket for threaded attachment to a pin carried by the pole or cross arm. Above the skirt there is a reduced portion which provides a neck and above the neck an enlarged portion or a head and the top of which is bifurcated with a transverse groove which provides a seat for the line and in which the line is ordinarily disposed. The more common practice has been to lay the line in the groove and then to hold the line in the groove by wrapping soft wire around the line on opposite sides of the insulator around the neck of the insulator. Various means for holding the line in this manner are well known in the art, as shown in Patent No. 1,967,616, and need not be described in detail here. Such prior fastening means took considerable time to attach the line to the insulator and also took a peculiar form of skill to provide a tie that would last for any length of time. The quality of the tie varied with different workmen.

After the tie of the prior art had been made, the vibrations of the line eventually caused the tie to become loose and it had to be replaced. The actual tieing of the line caused the line to be forced down into the bottom of the groove in the insulator and the vibrations of the line in addition to causing the tie to come loose also caused the line, where it contacted with the insulator, to eventually chafe or become fatigued and break. When the line broke, it fell to the ground; in a power line, this was a hazard to people who might touch it. The character of the tie was such that about all it did was hold the line in the insulator and did not provide good holding power against longitudinal movement of the line. If a break occurred close to the tie, the unbalanced forces, due to the broken line and the fact that the line could move longitudinally, frequently caused both sides of the line to fall down.

Numerous means have been contemplated in the nature of appliances which would replace the previously known hand tieing. An example of such a device is shown in Patent No. 3,042,745. Certain disadvantages were inherent in the use of an appliance of the above character. As is well known, lines expand and contract with changes in temperature. When they sagged the ties became loose. When unbalanced forces were applied to the tie such that the tension on one side was greater than the other, it caused the insulator to be unscrewed and it only took approximately 90 of rotation for the tie to unwrap and lose its grip on the insulator.

It also has a hard twist at the point where it crossed over the line, resulting in a concentrated stress on the line at that point which caused the line to be chafed.

The present invention contemplates a device which is very easy to install and wherein the design is such that it may be installed uniformly by workmen with a minimum of experience. After installation, it not only holds the line in the groove of the insulator without damaging the conductor but holds it against longitudinal movement relative to the insulator. Once installed, the forces on the insulator resulting from an unbalance of line tension, are balanced and there is no tendency for the insulator to be turned around even though one side of the line should break. The tightness of the tie is virtually not effected by changes in the tension or sag of the line.

The new tie of this invention enables a complete formation of the parts, by the manufacturer, which are sent into the field. The workman only needs to assemble these parts in combination with the line and the insulator. No formation of the parts other than bending within their resilient limits is contemplated. The assembly of the device with the lines and the insulator may be made quickly and easily by hand, without the aid of special tools. The tie will be described, in the interest of simplicity, in conjunction with its use to secure a line which may be bare or insulated in an insulator, without any other appurtenances. It will be appreciated, however, that it may be used in conjunction with conventional and well known armoring around the line at the insulator.

Still other advantages of the invention and the invention itself will become more apparent from the following description of an embodiment thereof which description is illustrated by the accompanying drawings and forms a part of this specification.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a pair of elements which are used in my invention, one of which is assembled with a line;

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating the other element in a stage partially assembled with the line and the first element;

FIG. 3 is a view showing the elements assembled with each other and disposed on a line;

FIG. 4 illustrates the elements and the line after disposition in the top groove of an insulator, the head of which has been broken away, and ready for final assemy;

FIG. 5 is a similar view illustrating the device after final assembly;

FIG. 6 is a view illustrating each element formed of a pair of helical rods and also indicating, in dotted lines, a protecting sheath around the bight; and

FIG. 7 is a section on the line 77 of FIG. 6.

In the drawings like parts have been designated by like reference characters.

Briefly, the invention contemplates the formation of a pair of fastening members each of which may include a helical element throughout its length which is bent to provide a bight at one end. The two elements are assembled together on a line with the parts of the bight intertwisted to form a partial lay around and along the line and the opposite parts disposed around the opposite sides of the head of the insulator with the legs of each element intertwisted together around and along the line and with the legs of the two elements extending in opposite directions from the insulator.

More specifically, as best shown in FIG. 1, I provide a pair of elements 110, each of which is comprised of a helix of drawn resilient wire that may be helical throughout its length, which wire is well known in the art as described in Patent No. 2,587,521. The inside of the helix should have a diameter slightly less than that of the line to which it is to be applied, although it may, for certain purposes, be larger than the line. The pitch of the helix should be such that it can be installed on the line without permanently distorting the pitch. In its preferred form it should be of the same hand or lay as that of the line, although it could be of opposite hand. The

rods so described are well known in the art as preformed armor rods.

The rod is then bent, as shown in FIG. 1, to provide a bight 111. with a pair of depending legs 12 and 13. The leg 12 and the side 11a of the bight are arranged with axes xx of the helices of the leg and bight upon a common axis. The other half of the bight 11b, from which the leg 13 extends, is curved on a radius such that this portion of the bight provides a close contact with the neck of the insulator when the two legs 12 and 13 are later in intertwisted relation around the line. The actual shape of the bight part 11b may vary. In the process of forming it to the proper curvature the helices in this part may be substantially flattened out to the point where the helical curvature is substantially eliminated and the remaining curvature is that of the neck of the insulator. There may, however, be some of the helical formation remaining.

Although each element is illustrated as being formed from a single rod, this is for the purpose of illustration only, since one, two or more rods as illustrated in FIG. 6 may be used. When more than one rod is used, the rods are intertwisted prior to bending to form a partial lay. The rods may be bare, coated, or sleeved with an insulating material such as one of the vinyl plastics or Neoprene, of which there are many available on the market today. The sleeving may be applied to the entire rod or merely in the bight portion as shown in dotted lines in FIG. 6.

The helices of the legs may also be so formed that they may take various positions relative to each other around the line when in their final position; that is they may be closely spaced to form a partial lay around the line or they may be so spaced that when they are disposed around the line they are in 180 phase relationship to each other.

Preferably, both of the elements are identical and as so formed one of the elements is first applied to the line L with the leg 12 and the straight bight portion 11a wrapped around the line at which time the curved bight portion 11b extends away from the line, as best shown in the lower left-hand portion of FIG. 1. The straight bight portion should be at the place where the line is opposite to the groove in the insulator.

The next stage in the assembly comprises the intertwisting of the other element with the first element on the line L. This stage is illustrated in FIG. 2. The second element is taken by the hand and held with the straight part of the bight toward and behind the line. The element is then moved, with the bight on the far side of the line, as viewed in the drawings, until, when longitudinally to the left, the leg 12 can be passed along the opposite side of the line from the leg 12 of the first element and the leg passed through the bight part 11!; of the first element. The second element is then moved further to the left to bring the bight of the first element to the position where the two bight portions 11a, having a straight axis for the helices, are now adjacent each other in intertwisted relation. This forms a partial lay of two elements at this place in contact with the line. The leg 12 of the second element is then wrapped around the line, as shown in FIG. 3.

There are now the two portions 11a of the bights intertwisted with each other to provide a partial lay which has a snug fit with the line L and with the extremities which are a combination of these parts passing around the line and with the legs 12 being wrapped around the line and extending away from the bights in opposite directions. The free'legs 13 extend spaced from the line. It may be found to be expedient to have the legs 13 diverge away from the line from bights toward the ends of the elements.

The preceding was described as though the line was disposed away from the insulator. In practice it would preferably be done with the line trained through the groove in the insulator. The ends of the legs 12 and 13 could be provided with eyes for hot line installation, as is well known in the art.

The elements and the line are now in the groove of the insulator, as shown in FIG. 4. In this figure the skirt is shown at 20, the neck at 21 and the head in dotted lines. As stated, the head is bifurcated with a groove to provide two oppositely disposed neck portions 21a which are surmounted by the larger head portions 22a. in placing the assembly in the insulator the free legs are both bent outward far enough that the curved parts 11b of the bights may be passed over the enlarged heads 22a! of the insulator which are on opposite sides of the groove. When the legs are released, they will take the position shown in FIG. 4, where the partial lay formed by the intertwisted bight portions surrounds the line. At this time, the curved parts 11b of the bights where they leave the straight parts 11a each pass under the line, around the insulator neck and under the head from opposite ends of the groove and in opposite directions with the free legs 13 now disposed in spaced relation to the attached legs 12.

There then remains only the wrapping of the free legs 13 around the line, so that the two legs of each element extend away from the insulator and are intertwisted together, as shown in FIG. 5. As stated, the helices of the two legs may be substantially in phase, in which instance they are close together and form a partial lay, or, they may be in phase relation to each other as shown in the drawings, where they are on opposite sides to each other. The assembly now consists of each of the two elements having a pair of legs wrapped around the line and extending away from the insulator and a bight for each element looped around one of the heads of the insulator and the contiguous portions of the two bights being twisted together to form a partial lay engaging and nearly surrounding the line in the groove.

The results accomplished include the mechanical conneotion of the line to the insulator. The intertwist bight portions engage with and extend around and along the line for nearly 180 The curved bight portions are each disposed over the opposite head portions of the insulator and together with the intertwisted bight portions provide a substantially balanced assembly such that unbalanced line strains do not have a tendency to turn the insulator, even if one side of the line should break because the straight part of the bight portion, where it crosses under the line, is beyond the center line of the groove. Should the line break at the insulator, the legs of the elements will grip the line, preventing it from falling, and if one lme should break beyond the tie, the other side of the line will be held from falling by the gripping action.

When the elements are made from more than one preformed wire as described above, it is contemplated that the rods after intertwisting to form a partial lay, be secured to each other by a suitable adhesive or binder as shown at 20 on FIG. 7. It is also contemplated that a grlp enhancing material, which may be of a material such as silica sand 21, be applied to the inner surfaces of the helices while the adhesive or binder is still'soft or wet.

It is pointed out that the interwisting mentioned is the bringing together of two or more helices without distortion of the rods so that the rods lie alongside each other to form a helical element made of two or more rods, without distortion of the rods, which preformed element is termed a pantial lay.

It is also contemplated that when the rods are coated or sleeved, to provide a protective coating, that this coating should preferably be one that will conduct current, although in some instances it could be a non-conductor.

It will be apparent that the installment may be effected without the use of tools if desired. That it may be in stalled by a workman with a minimum of experience. That all installations are uniform. That once installed,

it cannot come loose, due to vibration or other causes. That if desired it can be detached and reused.

Having thus described the invention in an embodiment thereof, I am aware that numerous and extensive departures may be made therefrom without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a line, support and holding means holding the line in the support, said support having a pair of head portions spaced by a top groove and the line disposed therein, and a portion of said support or" reduced diameter below the head portion, means holding the line in the groove of the support comprising a partial lay extending in contact with the line in the groove, and first portions extending from said partial lay at opposite ends in opposite directions under the line and around the side of the reduced portion of the support, and second portions surrounding the line and connected to said partial lay and third portions extending from said support surrounding pant and wrapped around the line in intertwisted engagement with said second portions.

2. In combination with a support having a headed end and a groove biseoting the head into two parts and a line disposed therein, means to hold the line in the groove and on the support comprising a pair of fastening elements, each of which includes at least one helical element bent to form a bight intermediate the ends with legs extending from the bight, said two elements being assembled together on the line with parts of the two bights intertwisted to form a partial lay in contact with the line in said groove and with the other parts of the bights disposed around opposite parts of the head of said support on opposite sides thereof with the legs of each of said elements intertwisted together around the line.

3. A device as described in claim 2, wherein said elements are assembled together by moving them into engagement with each other from opposite directions and wherein said legs of each element extend in opposite directions to the legs of the other element when assembled on the line.

4. The combination of a line conductor with a support which includes a head with a groove in the head and a line in the groove and a neck below the head, means holding the line in the groove, comprising a pair of members each of which is formed from a wire preformed into a helix throughout its length, said helix being bent to form a bight with a pair of legs, said bight including a first portion on one side which is a continuation of one of the legs with the axes of the helices in the legs and the bight coextensive with each other, the other side of the bight being of substantially semi-circular configuration, said members being assembled around the line with said first portions in the bight intertwisted to form a partial lay extending in contact with that part of the line which is disposed in the groove of the support and with the semi-circular bight portions extending around the neck in opposite directions from opposite ends of the partial lay and with the legs of each of said members extending along the line in opposite directions from the legs of the other member and wrapped around the line.

5. A device as described in claim 4, wherein said members are of resilient wire and the inner diameter of the helix is less than the diameter of the line and of a pitch such that it may be applied to the line from the side without permanent deformation of the helix.

6. A device as described in claim 4, wherein each of said members is comprised of more than one Wire and they are secured together by a binder to form a partial lay.

7. A device as described in claim 6, wherein the inner surfaces of the helices are provided with a grip enhancing material.

8. A device as described in claim 4, wherein at least the bights of said elements are provided with a protective coating.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,943,135 6/60 Bottling 174-79 X 2,947,504 8/60 Ruhlman 174-173 X 2,965,701 12/60 Kitselman 174l73 X 3,042,745 7/62 Williams 174173 OTHER REFERENCES Nefzger, Mar. 17, 1960, 1,077,700 (German printed application) (1 sht. drwg., 2 pp. spec).

JOHN F BURNS, Primary Examiner. LARAMIE E. ASKIN, Examiner. 

1. IN COMBINATION WITH A LINE, SUPPORT AND HOLDING MEANS HOLDING THE LINE IN THE SUPPORT, SAID SUPPORT HAVING A PAIR OF HEAD PORTIONS SPACED BY A TOP GROOVE AND THE LINE DISPOSED THEREIN, AND A PORTION OF SAID SUPPORT OF REDUCED DIAMETER BELOW THE HEAD PORTION, MEANS HOLDING THE LINE IN THE GROOVE OF THE SUPPORT COMPRISING A PARTIAL LAY EXTENDING IN CONTACT WITH THE LINE IN THE GROOVE, AND FIRST PORTIONS EXTENDING FROM SAID PARTIAL LAY AT OPPOSITE ENDS IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS UNDER THE LINE AND AROUND THE SIDE OF THE REDUCED PORTION OF THE SUPPORT, AND SECOND PORTIONS SURROUNDING THE LINE AND CONNECTED TO SAID PARTIAL LAY AND THIRD PORTIONS EXTENDING FROM SAID SUPPORT SURROUNDING PART AND WRAPPED AROUND THE LINE IN INTERTWISTED ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID SECOND PORTIONS. 